Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of dental medicine and relates to a dental implant system including a ceramic implant and an abutment.
Description of Related Art
Many of the common dental implant systems are of several parts and include an implant anchored in the bone, and an abutment, on which an attachment element a crown or bridge, for example, is fastened. Multi-part dental implant systems with an implant and an abutment are often called two-part implant systems, irrespective of further components. Two-part dental implant systems are characterised by particularly comprehensive application possibilities in dental prosthetics. Generally, one waits for the implant to be healed in the bone after the implant of a two-part implant system has been anchored in the bone. The abutment is fastened on the implant after the healing-in phase.
Some common dental implant systems are manufactured of ceramic, in particular since ceramic has an extraordinary good biocompatibility and since particularly good aesthetic results are obtained with ceramic implants. Ceramic materials, however, are brittle, which is why ceramic implants are more prone to breakage as compared to implants manufactured from ductile, metallic materials. Two-part ceramic implants are even more prone to breakage in comparison to single-part ceramic implants, but are often preferred on account of the versatile application possibilities. A two-part ceramic implant that displays a particularly breakage-resistant connection between the ceramic implant and the abutment is described, for example, in CH 00460/13.
The more costly manufacturing method of ceramic implant systems is also disadvantageous compared, for example, to implant systems of titanium or titanium alloys. In particular, the machining of ceramic blanks, which is necessary in order to provide ceramic implant parts with the desired inner and outer structures, is time-consuming and costly. Ceramic material, for example, cannot be turned or embossed due to the brittle characteristics. Complicated grinding methods, as are described for example in EP 2,072,020 are usually applied for creating contours on ceramic parts. The manufacture of delicate inner structures with grinding methods is particularly time-consuming. A manufacturing method for inner structures of ceramic implant parts, which in particular is suitable for the creation of insert geometries is described in CH 01744/12.